


Videos Speak a Million Words

by AvixenK



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-26 18:56:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13863915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvixenK/pseuds/AvixenK
Summary: •Not smut•Set in the near future but unrelated to the actual show.•Has mild language.--"I guess that makes it easier for us."The major points in their relationship





	1. Chapter 1

Sometimes forming Voltron isn't the best way to go in a battle. But why can't it be? And why can't it ever be easy? Nothing is ever easy!  
It wasn't a mission to save this alien civilization called the Ozonas from Galra because there were none. As such, none of the Paladins wore their armor. Even if the mission was to save these guys, they were more than capable of taking care of themselves. They looked like big scary rats with no tails. They all had dark blue fur with black stripes around their wrists, ankles, and necks. They also had a stripe that began on their foreheads and went down to the middle of their backs. Those stripes would vary in three colors which were white, yellow, or more black. These stripes also categorized what class they would fall under. Their upper class were military officials, nobles, and royal family and they were the ones with the white stripe. There was no middle class. The lower class was the yellow stripes and they were the ones who truly ran their world with their daily jobs and work. They were the peasants. The Ozonas with black stripes were entirely different. They were rare and were a danger to themselves and others. They were bloodthirsty killers and had to be locked away from the rest of the world. They would only be let out to end civil wars and getting them back in their enclosure was a war all on it's own. There had only been four of these savages in the Ozonas' 36,487 year long existence. All four had been males and it was a theory that the Black Striped could only be so. The average people were terrified of the Black Striped and took it upon themselves to become a species that could handle the worse of them. They became phenomenal war planners and die hard warriors. Their rocky planet could be seen as a giant, dry, and unforgiving training field. They were a must have in the coalition. And that was the mission of Voltron. Honestly the meeting was going horribly and it looked like this race of warrior rats wasn't going to join. But thank heavens that a robeast crashed down on the rocky planet to change their minds.  
It felt like an earthquake had shook the planet. But several of the Ozonas said that they had no such thing. The members of Voltron were immediately on guard. The Paladins, along with Allura and Coran, ran out of the chilly meeting room which was inside a surprisingly beautiful castle, and out to the dry climate of the planet. They saw a giant snake-like robeast already causing immense damage. It had no arms and was firing a laser from it's mouth. At the same time it was destroying buildings with a powerful tail. Steam or smoke suddenly blew out from it's sides. It apparently had so many inner workings that it was necessary for it to have five exhaust ports on each side, making ten in total.  
"Allura, stay here while we take Coran back to the Castleship with us. We'll get our Lions and Coran will back us up if necessary with the Castle's weapon systems. This shouldn't take long and we can get back to that meeting." Shiro ordered.  
With Coran lagging behind only by a few feet, the Paladins made it to the Castleship that had been landed in the Ozonas castle garden. They separated and went to their individual hangers. Keith was the first to get airborne followed by Pidge then Lance and then Hunk. Shiro was the last but as soon as he was in sight, he was already yelling the oh so famous "Form Voltron!" phrase.  
Voltron rocketed towards the robeast, gaining it's attention the closer they got. With the order from Shiro, Voltron's sword that formed from the Red Paladin's bayard was in robotic hand. Voltron landed a good three football field length away from their enemy. That didn't seem to matter as the robeast was suddenly terrifyingly close and launching itself towards the robotic man. Another thing to add: the robeast was so quick that it practically teleported.  
Voltron dodged with a sidestep. The robeast flew past and landed on the ground with a giant thud. Smoke blew out the exhaust ports before the robeast righted itself and launched again. This time Voltron didn't dodge but took a swing. The robeast moved it's body while in the air to wrap itself around the sword and red arm to squeeze both. Keith screamed into the comms from the pressure. He was forced to disengage from Voltron entirely to save himself. The Red Lion put some distance between it and the beast. Voltron did the same. With another thud the beast was on the ground. A sword formed in the green arm as Keith rejoined Voltron as the missing arm. The beast launched itself at it's target once again and the green arm was the one to swing getting the same result of nothing. The Green Lion had to disengage as the robeast began to squeeze it. The cycle of the Red and Green Lions disengaging continued. Then the robeast launched itself for the fifth time. It snaked up the red arm and wrapped itself around the neck of Voltron.  
"Dissemble Voltron! We can't beat it like this." Shiro shouted.  
With that, all the Lions were in the air circling the robeast except for the black one. The Black Lion was still caught in the grasp of the enemy. The other four Lions simultaneously shot lasers at the robeast. It let go and slithered away from the shots being fired. The Black Lion joined it's brothers and sisters. They dodged lasers from the robeast and shot lasers of their own back. Hunk did a risky move and headbutted the beast's head. It knocked it back but didn't down it. Lance flew close and used the Blue Lion's sonic cannon to keep it still.  
"Alright people talk. How do we beat this thing?" Shiro asked.  
"We can use Voltron's shoulder cannon." Hunk suggested.  
"That'll hit a lot of other things than just the robeast Hunk. We use that to get rid of fleets of Galra ships from a distance all at once." Keith shut down.  
"How about the Green Lion's special ability?" Pidge said.  
"The robeast is too quick for that, it'll never hit." Shiro shut down.  
The robeast let out smoke while still caught in the Blue Lion's cannon.  
"What if we fire lasers into the exhaust ports?" Lance suggested. A smack was heard by someone.  
"Why didn't I think of that?" Pidge said. She probably face-palmed herself. "Great idea Lance! If we aim our lasers just right, we'll be able to blow it up from the inside."  
"Well it's the best sounding plan anyone of us have come up with. Everyone fire at the ports and try not to hit one another." Shiro said.  
Lance shut down his sonic cannon. The robeast, without hesitation, turned and slammed it's tail down on the Red Lion who was being flown too close by Keith. A strangled scream came from him and then he went silent. The Red Lion's eyes went dark and it made no attempt to move. The robeast, not satisfied enough, slammed it's tail down on the lifeless lion more. The comms, quiet all that time, was then filled with an emotion filled scream of Keith's name from Lance.  
"Lance, focus! He's alright! Aim for the ports already so we can check on him faster!" Shiro angrily ordered him.  
Lance did as he was told. He didn't destroy as many ports as the others. The tail let up as the force of explosions on the inside forced it away from Red. Hunk blew up the last port and the robeast, in it's death, roared. Lance was having none of it and fired a laser down it's mouth. The robeast died with a fiery explosion. The Paladins were no longer paying attention to the robeast. Their attention was all on the Red Lion who was still not functioning. Even worse, Keith hadn't responded.  
The Black Lion, being the only one big enough, picked up it's red brother with it's mouth and led the way back to the Castleship. Red was placed in it's appropriate hanger before Black went off to it's own. Shiro rushed out of his lion and ran the entire way back to the red hanger. When he arrived Pidge, Hunk, and Lance were already there, desperately trying to pry open the mouth to get in. Shiro activated his robotic arm and opened the mouth with little difficulty. He told the younger Paladins to stay as he went to get Keith. Shiro found him unconscious and thrown out of his seat, to the side. His head must have hit the wall because there was an awful looking bruise on his forehead. There were little bloody cuts all over him. Shiro picked Keith up bridal style and rushed him out. Upon seeing their red teammate, Hunk placed his hands over his mouth, Pidge was visibly shaking, and Lance was running his hands through his hair and not bothering to hide the fact that he was crying. They wasted no time by running to the infirmary. Pidge opened one of the pods. They didn't put Keith into one of those white suits Lance had on when he was hurt; they did take his jacket and belt off though. Back then they all had known that Lance would have been alright but now... none of them tried not to think about that.  
The pod closed with a hiss. It began to scan the unconscious body inside it. Not a breath could be heard as they waited. A beep sounded and a screen appeared.  
Three broken ribs, cracked left knee, cracked skull, small concussion. It would take three days to recover. Full recovery was expected. Keith was going to be okay. Everyone in the room let the air they had held in out. Lance, who has holding Keith's jacket and belt, pulled them closer to his chest.  
"I shouldn't have let up on the sonic cannon." He said.  
"Lance this isn't your fault." Hunk comforted.  
"It was Keith who was flying too close." Pidge pitched in. She probably could have gone without saying that.  
"It was an honest accident." Shiro said.  
"I shouldn't have let up on the sonic cannon." Lance repeated, shaking his head. He brought the jacket closer to his face.  
"I know how hard this is-" Shiro started.  
"Don't even try that cliche! You have no actual idea how hard this is and going to be!" Lance snapped. The entire team was taken back. That was unlike Lance.  
"I think I have a pretty good idea." Shiro retorted. He stood up straighter and looked Lance in the eye. Lance wasn't fazed in the slightest. He laughed a humorless laugh.  
"You really don't. Nobody does."  
He backed up and turned around on his heel. He headed out the door and turned towards the direction of his room. The others stared after him and watched the door close. Then Shiro let his body relax. He stared at the door and sighed. After looking at Keith one more time he too left. The others followed him.His destination was the bridge. Allura should be back by now and indeed she was.  
When the door to the bridge opened she turned around with a grin. From the way Coran looked at them, he hadn't yet told her what happened to Keith during the fight. She didn't at first notice the grim faces of the people entering.  
"Great news Paladins!" She said. "The Ozonas have joined the coalition. They'll be very helpful in our fight against Zarkon. They are excellent war planners and their strength is something to marvel." She stopped.  
"That's good to hear Allura but we kinda have a new situation. It's among ourselves." Hunk explained.  
"Where is Lance?" She asked. Shiro placed himself beside Allura. Hunk stood by the door and Pidge went over to her seat and pulled out her laptop.  
"Lance has probably locked himself in his room. It's nothing to worry about. I shouldn't have done what I did." Shiro answered the princess. She looked at him for a moment before turning, deciding that she shouldn't question it further.  
"Have any of you guys noticed that Lance and Keith have been acting a bit differently around each other? Like in a good way." Hunk asked.  
"I have. I just didn't put much thought into it. I'm worried now that I should have." Shiro spoke up. He placed his hands around the back of his head and hung it down.  
"They haven't really fought as violently as before. When was their last big fight?" Pidge asked. She eyed everyone for an answer. Coran was the one to give it.  
"In your Earth terms, it's been six months."  
Pidge typed furiously on her laptop. Everyone in the room watched with a raised eyebrow. She looked up as a giant screen appeared floating in the middle of the room. It was the Castleship's video camera footage of a night cycle six months ago.  
"We'll probably find out what happened between those two if we watch their interactions with each other over those few months. So sit back and relax because we're watching them all like we're binge watching a series of bad movies." Pidge joked. Hunk laughed.  
Everyone moved to sit on the floor with a good view of the screen. Coran jumped back up and went to grab blankets and pillows from the lounge. When he came back Hunk jokingly praised him like he was a god. They all got settled. Once everyone confirmed that they were ready, Pidge pressed play.  
As the others began watching what would change the minds and functionality of the team, Lance had returned to the infirmary knowing they would all be gone. Even if they were still there he wasn't going to apologise or make excuses for the way he spoke.  
Lance had come back wearing the Red Paladin's jacket. He put the belt in Keith's room. He wrapped his arms around himself in a self-hug, imagining he was hugging Keith at the same time. His eyes were red and puffy from him harshly crying in his room. He was beating himself up already and it had been less than an hour. He really needed Keith back as soon as possible. He wasn't going to survive the next three days.  
"I'm so sorry." He said. He looked up at Keith in the pod. His heart ached at the sight. "I should have done more, maybe called out that I was going to let the robeast go. It really is my fault."  
He knew Keith couldn't hear what he was saying. He was pretty much just talking to the pod which was equivalent to a wall. But him saying these things were for his own sake.  
"Please hurry up and come back to me babe."


	2. Chapter 2

There was a lot of darkness and of the color black in space. Like an annoying amount. But there was also a lot of calming colors out there as well that covered up the black. The purple, the deep blue, lighter blue, white, yellow, and sometimes the bits of red could calm a man's nerves. It was an almost magical cure for insomnia. Keith loved it but space was among the last things he was thinking about tonight. He had hoped that he could come to the bridge and be lulled to sleep by the endless stars. His own mind was torturing him. Thoughts of a certain Blue Paladin had been keeping him awake for a week now. He did no favors for himself as he sat down in said Paladin's chair. He breathed in the scent that lingered on the chair, a scent that screamed Lance. Keith officially named himself obsessed. He groaned and leaned his head back over the armchair. He covered his face with his hands and groaned even more. When he was done he ran his hands down his face harshly and let them go limp by his sides.  
"I'm not okay." He whispered to himself. He truly wasn't.  
The sound of the door opening and closing pulled Keith out of his thoughts temporarily. He stretched his back and craned his neck to see who had entered. Oh dear God it was Lance. Keith couldn't deal with him right now in the state he was in but he couldn't help notice that Lance's movements were slow. His head was hanging ever so slightly down and his hands were interlocked together, resting on his head. He was gently chewing on the insides of his cheek with his lips partly open. Seeing his lips like that made Keith's head spin.  
"Hey." Keith said to him. He watched Lance's eyes become wide and head snap up. His hands let go of each other and dangled down. He relaxed after a full three seconds.  
"Oh, um, hey to you too. Didn't see you there." Lance replied. His voice didn't sound too good and he must have noticed as well because he cleared his throat with a cough.  
"What are you doing up? The day cycle should be starting soon." Keith questioned. Lance rubbed the back of his neck.  
"Thinking." Was all he said.  
"Missing your family?"  
"Well I'm always missing them but that's not what's keeping me awake this time."  
"Well what is it?"  
Lance eyed him for a second. Even in the dark Keith still looked gorgeous. "You."  
Of course Keith wanted to know more but he was jumping to conclusions. He was probably just thinking about how much he hated him. He briefly wondered if Lance hated him and much as much as Keith hated himself.  
"Oh, sorry I guess."  
Keith sat back up against the chair. He couldn't see Lance anymore but he heard him walking closer. He entered Keith's view again as he leaned against the side of the console in front of the seat. He wasn't looking at the view of space as Keith was trying to do but rather Lance was staring at him. They both stayed silent for a while. Lance didn't stop staring and Keith was trying not to look into Lance's beutiful blue eyes. Jesus, Keith was gone for this boy.  
"I'm sorry for making fun of you by calling you a cowboy today." Lance said, interrupting the silence. Keith finally looked at him. Nothing changed in Lance's face.  
Earlier that day while training with the others, Lance couldn't help but insult Keith by calling him a cowboy. Keith took that and blew it up. It was unnecessary on both ends. It was definitely one of their more stupid fights but it turned into one of their worst.  
"I'm sorry for punching you in the face." Keith said. "And punching you in the stomach, and kicking your shin, and swiping your feet from under you, and I'm really just sorry for everything I did."  
"Apology accepted. I guess we can go ahead and tell Shiro that we apologized to each other." Lance said. He forced a laughed that sounded like he was nervous. And he was.  
Keith pulled his legs up to his chest. He hid his face there. "I'm sorry for whatever I did to make you hate me too."  
"I don't hate you."  
Keith's head snapped up and his legs went back to the floor. Lance was looking away from him now and had his eyes on his shoes.  
"But isn't that what you're thinking about me? How much you hate me?" Keith questioned. He was real curious now.  
"I'm thinking the exact opposite." Lance slapped his hand over his mouth. He turned his head away.  
Keith jumped up out of the seat. He went to stand directly in front of Lance. His heart was suddenly beating a mile a minute. He put his hands on Lance's shoulders and tried to make him look at him. He couldn't.  
"Lance what are you thinking about me?"  
Lance gently grabbed Keith's hands and tightened his grip from there. He lifted them off his shoulders and had them settle between the two of them. He realized how tight his grip really was and loosened it. He didn't want to hurt Keith but he didn't want him to run away either. This was going to happen whether Lance liked it or not and no matter what would happen afterward, Lance would live.  
"Swear to me that you won't tell anyone. I'm terrified of what everyone else will say or do. Please don't hang this over me or use it as blackmail. Please don't look at me any differently." Lance pleaded.  
"Lance, I swear on my life I won't tell a soul. I won't do any of those things."  
Lance looked at Keith's face through his eyelashes.  
"Well firstly you've got to know that I'm bisexual before I continue." Lance said. Keith's eyes widened slightly but he nodded. So far so good. "Ugh, you make this so hard you know! You were top of the class, you were called the best pilot in the galaxy, when we left Earth on Blue and you got your lion you became the actual best pilot in the universe, you're strong and always focused, you're obviously Shiro's favorite, you're undeniably hot even with a mullet, you're always doing cool stuff, you act all tough and whatnot and when you don't you're just adorable. You drive me crazy."  
Lance looked up to see Keith's face. It really wasn't what he was expecting. Keith was smiling. He wasn't smiling in a creepy way or in a "I'm going to make you suffer" way. He was smiling in a, well, fond way. Keith twisted their hands so that they were interlocked like they were holding hands like a couple would. This way Keith was able to push Lance to back up and he did a little more than just push.  
Lance was seated in his own chair. His back hit the chair a little bit harder than Keith liked. He would have to say sorry later. Lance didn't seem too hurt as he looked up into Keith's violet eyes. Keith didn't press himself too close. He didn't want to be intimidating but he did want a certain something.  
"Say it for me Lance."  
"What?"  
"I need to heard you say it."  
Lance slowly came to the realization of what Keith wanted him to say. There was a sliver of hope in his heart then and so he said it without hesitation or wavering. "I love you."  
Keith was suddenly on cloud 9. He wished he could stay in this moment forever.  
"I love you too." Was all he could say then.  
Lance stared at Keith. Just stared with wide eyes. He had thought that Keith liking him back was only a fever dream. He was tempted to pinch himself. Keith sat on the armchair and relaxed. The feeling of cloud 9 went away after a minute. Lance saw that Keith had returned from his adventure and then began pressing questions.  
"Does this mean you want to be m-" Keith stopped him by placing his hand over his mouth.  
"God knows the answer to that is yes."  
Lance removed the hand blocking his mouth. "Wait, so what are you? Sexuality wise."  
"Gay."  
"Does anyone else know?"  
"No and they're not going to."  
"Not even Shiro knows?"  
"Nope. The only way he found out what my last name is was by looking at my file at the Garrison."  
"He must have been desperate."  
"He really was. I was driving him up the walls with telling him nothing about myself. It was hilarious to watch. Hey, can I ask you something?"  
"Only after I ask you one more thing."  
"Alright fine."  
"How would you describe your relationship with Shiro?"  
Keith basically jumped at the question to answer. "Good and creepy."  
"That definitely wasn't what I was expecting."  
"But that's how I'd describe it! I like the man like I would a brother. But imagine a 24 year old man just walking up to a 17 year old and trying to become friends with them! That's creepy!" Keith explained.  
"I definitely see the things wrong there."  
"Thank you! And when I did let down my walls enough to let him into my life, he began going overboard with compliments in attempts to stay. He's still going overboard even now! Sometimes I need to get away from him for my own sake because I think things Lance. He, honest to God, creeps me out sometimes."  
"You've got alot to say about this."  
"I do! And when he was assumed dead, yes I was extremely upset to an unhealthy degree. I thought he would be a constant in my life, that he wouldn't leave like so many others. But when I thought about this subject, I can't lie, I was just a little bit glad that he was maybe dead."  
"Keith, holy shit!"  
"I'm sorry but it's all true! Don't you dare tell him this."  
"I swore that I wouldn't but holy shit." Lance gaped.  
"Now is it my turn?" Keith asked.  
"Yep, go for it."  
"Why are you always flirting with girls? Or what you assume is a girl."  
"Keith, buddy, sit back and relax because it's my turn to tell a story and rant." Lance said with a smirk.  
"Oh God." Keith said with a sigh and a smile.  
"In short, it's just part of my personality. I fully know that whenever I do flirt, like I do, that it won't get me anywhere. I just do it for the fun of it. But I have a story to tell related to this. I took a trip to Cayo Largo beach once. It's a beach in Cuba. I was around twelve or thirteen. Walking through the town, I saw an older woman who's hair was a mess, was wearing a hoodie and shorts, no makeup, but she looked like a decent woman. I could tell she was a tourist so I spoke to her in English. I approached her and did my thing. I called her beutiful, a gem among people, I remember calling her a natural wonder of the world and related her beauty to Cuba's finest beaches. When I walked away, she had a radiant smile on her face. I didn't see her again and I went back to Varadero a few days later. Years later, I was walking along Varadero Beach. A woman with a husband and baby came up to me. The woman had her hair nice and straight, was wearing a silk flower printed shirt and matching shorts, had some nice lipstick on, and was just stunning even if she was older. She told me that she was the exact same woman." Lance took a break to look at Keith. He was really into it. He made a gesture that told him to go on. "I boosted that woman's self esteem and gave her enough confidence to go back to her home and ask out a crush. I did that and had no idea the impact I made on her! She married her crush and they had a baby Keith! I helped her do all that! It was the second best feeling in the world. I want every person I flirt with, girl or guy, to feel like that woman did."  
"Lance, that's amazing." Keith said. He was awestruck. "But second best feeling?"  
"The first being when you admitted you loved me too just then."  
Keith playfully and gently pushed him. "Idiot."  
"You're in love with this idiot. And you're stuck with him as well."  
Keith rolled his eyes but smiled.  
The Castleship's lights slowly brightened. The day cycle was starting. Everyone would be getting up soon and heading towards the dining room for breakfast goop. Lance and Keith didn't realize how much time had passed. They had to have been talking for hours. Unless it had been later at night than either one had thought. They couldn't bring themselves to care though. They looked at each other and smiled.  
"Want to get up and head out?" Keith asked.  
"I really don't but I kinda have to don't I?" Lance pouted.  
"Yeah, and then probably go and train. So come on."  
Lance eased up out of the seat. He put his hands in his pockets as he walked out of the bridge with Keith. Before they left entirely Keith turned toward Lance a bit.  
"Sorry about slamming you against your chair by the way. I didn't mean for it to be that hard." He said.  
"It's perfectly fine. It wasn't as hard as you probably thought."  
"Oh good." Keith sighed.  
"Now let's go eat goop that we call breakfast but we wish really, really wasn't."  
Keith laughed out loud. Lance stared at him for a good few seconds while smiling. Then the smile faded.  
"Don't tell them about us."  
Keith's laughter eased to a sudden stop. "Trust me, I'm just as terrified of how they'd react as you are. I'm not going to say a thing."  
Lance sighed. "Just making sure."  
Keith led the way out. Lance followed close behind.  
"I can't believe you're gay."  
"I will punch you."


	3. Chapter 3

The night cycle was their favorite time to be together. Everyone, except from maybe Pidge, was asleep. They didn't have to fake hating each other's guts. They could sit in the lounge with no worries of anyone coming in. It was the only time they could spend any alone time together. They did this almost every night since they confessed a month ago.  
Keith would always lean his head against Lance's shoulder or chest. Tonight was a chest day. So as he listened to Lance's heartbeat, he could tell something was wrong. Looking back on that day, he should have seen something was wrong sooner. Lance had been talking like he would any other day but he was more quiet. His smiles weren't as strong and they fell as soon as the person he was talking to looked away. His hands had been in his jacket pockets the entire day as well. Normally when they got together like this they would talk the night away. But tonight Lance just wouldn't say a word. Something was terribly wrong with the boy.  
"Lance." Keith said.  
The boy flinched. He looked slightly down to see Keith's worried face. "Yeah?" He said barely above a whisper.  
"What's wrong?" Keith asked.  
"Wrong? What do you mean? Everything is fine." Lance lied.  
"Your heartbeat and breathing are all over the place, you've been quiet, and been faking smiles. Something is wrong and I know it. So what is it?"  
Lance sighed deeply. He thought he had been doing a good job of covering up. If Keith could tell that he wasn't his usual self then do the others know? What would they say? Have they talked about him behind his back? He wouldn't blame them.  
"Do they hate me?" Lance asked out loud.  
"What?" Keith lifted his head off Lance's chest.  
"Do they hate me like I hate myself?" He clarified.  
"Lance, wha-"  
"I bet they talk shit about me whenever I'm not there. Why wouldn't they?"  
"Lance stop!" Keith demanded. "Why do you think they hate you?"  
"What's not to hate about me?"  
"What do you hate about yourself? Tell me."  
Lance crossed his arms and looked away. He sighed again. He shouldn't be telling Keith this. He should be able to handle this himself. But he started talking and then he couldn't stop.  
"My arms and legs are freakishly long, eyes aren't the right shade of blue, hair is too dark, my voice sounds like a girl's sometimes. I go around flirting with anything that remotely looks like a girl. I apparently never act serious. Pidge has even said I'm a goofball! I'm not as strong as either you or Shiro, I'm not a great pilot like you, I'm not smart like Pidge and Hunk, I can't come up with plans like Allura, I'm not on top of things like Coran. What the hell do I have? I shoot from a distance like a coward! I got the easiest lion to pilot! I bet Coran could pilot Blue if he tried! I'm replaceable!"  
The room was silent for a while. Lance wanted to curl into a ball and die right there and then. Keith probably thought him thinking those things were true. It was. But then Keith spoke and it wasn't what he was expecting.  
"I thought I was bad."  
"Huh?"  
"I hate myself too Lance. I thought I was bad but you're on another level."  
Lance stared at Keith. He was serious. He forced a laugh. "C'mon, I just made an entirely different confession. What could you possibly hate about yourself?"  
"I don't hate myself like you do." Keith explained. "You hate everything about yourself. I don't hate anything particular. I hate my existence."  
"What do you mean?"  
"Uh, hello, part Galra? I mean, what the fuck? Allura despised me for some time. I wouldn't say she came around but she doesn't hate me as much as she did. I'm pretty sure I activate Shiro's PTSD sometimes, Hunk for the longest time wouldn't stop asking me questions, Pidge only ever wanted DNA samples, and I can only imagine Coran was feeling the same way Allura did." He explained.  
The room went silent again. How was Lance suppose to respond to that? Well, he did the only thing he knew how to do. Be a comfort. He embraced Keith in a hug that he didn't try to get out of. They stayed like that for a while until Lance pulled back only by a little.  
"Keith. Tell me how you work."  
"Uh, my brain tells all my other orga-"  
"That's not what I meant and you know it."  
Keith leaned his head into Lance's shoulder. He took a moment to get his thoughts in order before he said anything. Lance didn't push him to talk and just waited for him. That was something Keith loved about him.  
"The universe wants to make me suffer. It takes everything good. It took my mother, father, the good foster families, and it took Shiro twice. It won't even let me die; it's so intent on my suffering." He began. He looked at Lance to see he was following along. He didn't say anything but nodded. He went to the next part.  
"I hate that everyone calls me selfish. That's the last thing I am. I care far more than any of you realize. You all say that my instinct is to stab first and ask questions later but that isn't it at all. My instinct is to protect and put others before myself.  
When I left because I thought Zarkon was tracking us through me, that was me protecting all of you. I put myself aside and became the pilot of the Black Lion even when I absolutely did not want to. I'm not qualified to lead Voltron and that was me putting you guys before myself. When I almost killed myself before Lotor swooped in and took down that barrier because I thought doing so would bring the barrier down, that was me protecting again. I put this entire universe before myself because everyone has a family to go back to. Everyone except me. I've got nothing, absolutely nothing, to go back to Earth to. You're going to go back to your family on Earth and you'll be surrounded by people who love you. You'll have your family back and you'll leave me behind because you don't need me anymore."  
Lance's hug fell. "Is that what you're most afraid of? Me leaving you behind? Because I know for an absolute fact that I won't."  
"Not even close to what I'm most afraid of. I'm afraid of rejection. Not rejection from a love confession or something. It's bigger than that. I was afraid Shiro wouldn't want me around anymore because I was part Galra and wanted to know my, I guess, origins. I was afraid Allura was going to hate me for being part Galra. And I was right. She hated me, still hates me and I know it. I never once defended myself against her and just accepted that I wasn't part of the team anymore as far as she was concerned. I don't expect, deserve, second chances and so I never thought that Allura would even apologize. The only thing I ever said was what if not all Galra are bad.  
And I'm highly sensitive to statements about me. I tear myself apart at all those 'Keith's the loner' or 'Keith's the hot head.'  
I don't expect support pretty much at all. But I know I desperately need it. I don't want to lose any support I've been given so I try my best to repay it with my own. But I'm still so terrified of being rejected and not wanted. I even said in my vlog that we were made to do that I push people away before they can reject me."  
"Your emotions run deep." Lance commented after Keith was done.  
"They really do. And I didn't even mention the fact that I react how you do."  
"C'mon now, elaborate on that."  
"When we were stuck in the elevator together you acted annoyed so I did too. Again, the bonding moment, you smiled so I thought it was okay for me too as well. It hurt when you said you forgot about that. I literally react how you do."  
"You don't have to do that."  
Keith sat up and shrugged. He didn't say anything. Lance put his closest arm around Keith's waist and rested his head on his hunched back.  
"That was a lot of talking. You okay?" He finally asked. Keith nodded. He didn't want to talk anymore. But Lance wanted to ask one more thing.  
"Keith?" The boy hummed to acknowledge his name being said. "Why are you so insistent on that bonding moment?"  
Keith sat up straight and took a breath. "That was when I realized I liked you. Love came into play later on."  
"Oh. You know I really do remember that, right?"  
"You made that clear when I mentioned it. But why do you say that you don't whenever the others are around?"  
"I guess I'm trying to protect some kind of pride or dignity or something. They would turn it into some kind of joke."  
Lance sighed and leaned back. He pulled his boyfriend close. They stayed in that comfortable position until Keith began to yawn. Lance stood up and forced Keith onto his feet. He held up the older, but shorter, boy as his knees nearly gave out. Once Keith could stand on his own, Lance gave him a hug. He hugged him back. Lance pulled back sooner than he liked.  
"Go get some sleep. Shiro might yell at you for being drowsy during training. And God knows I hate him when he does." Lance said.  
He murmured an "Okay." as he yawned again. He was in no place to say otherwise. Lance sent him off in the direction of his room and he went off to his own. Lance silently cursed himself for the missed opportunity of kissing Keith. There would be other times he knew though. Both boys slept the rest of the night cycles with smiles on their faces; dreaming of more times like that with each other.


	4. Chapter 4

None of them were sure if sparring against each other was the best idea. Allura demanded that they do though and nobody was going to dare argue otherwise. Every one of them was extremely stressed, strained, and always ready to break. Forming Voltron had become a challenge and many of their recent battles have had no Voltron action. The least stressed of the entire team were Lance and Keith. They were complemented about how well the two were doing whenever someone was feeling a bit better than most other days. Even Coran was more stressed than they were, him being so was a rub-off of Allura's crankiness. In recent days, she has had the Paladins train vigorously with little or no breaks. That definitely didn't help any of them. Shiro would become ticked off whenever his orders weren't followed through to the exact, Pidge was an actual volcano of heavy sass, Allura was just tired of it all in general, even Hunk had to be treated carefully as he made unintentional and sometimes hurtful comments. Every day one of them was arguing with another or several at once. This behavior worsened the forming of Voltron but none of them could do anything. It was horrible.  
"I'll spar against Shiro. Lance and Pidge will go against each other and that'll leave Hunk and Keith to go at one another. No weapons, only your fists and whatever else you hit each other with." Allura said. She waved her hand during the end of the last part.  
Everyone grabbed their partner and went to different corners in the training room. Everyone saw for a split second of Pidge literally jumping onto Lance and beginning to choke him.  
"Don't kill each other! As much as I'd like you to." Allura added. She faced Shiro and swung a heavy kick. Shiro took the kick like a champ.  
Lance had thrown Pidge off. He really didn't want to fight anyone in any way today. He held her hands behind her back and sat both of them down. Pidge began to immediately try and get out of Lance's tight grip. Lance never said a word as she began to silently, but not so silently, cuss him out. She gave up when she realized that Lance wasn't going to fight and was actually relieved.  
On the opposite side of the room was Keith dodging a fury of Hunk's punches. A normal and happy Hunk punches were already hard to take. A Hunk that was agitated more than usual who just so happened to be purposely trying to punch Keith was something he really didn't want to experience. He sidestepped and landed a solid punch in Hunk's side. Hunk gasped and he took that opportunity to kick, not too hard, the other side of Hunk's knee that made him collapse. With a murmur of something Keith couldn't hear, he sat up, raised his hands in surrender, and sat there the rest of the time. Keith crossed his arms with a sigh and watched Shiro and Allura.  
The two looked like they were battling to the death. Every hit was hard and every dodge determined. They continuously took turns backing the other against the wall. It could go on for hours like this if Shiro hadn't accidentally gone for a hair grab. He didn't pull hard before Allura was screaming "QUIZNAK!" He let go.  
"What was that for?" She screamed at him.  
"Oh what? You've taken worse!" He yelled back. Here it goes.  
"You can't just yank my hair!"  
"Why not? We're at war!"  
"You're not suppose to grab a lady's hair!" Pidge joined in. Lance had let go a few minutes earlier.  
"Hey, this is their argument not yours short stack!" Hunk yelled at Pidge.  
"Don't just call her names Hunk!" Lance said.  
The training room was filled with yelling. Shiro and Allura were still arguing with each other but they turned toward the others when they made a comment towards them, telling them to either shut up or fuck off. Hunk was going on a insulting name rant and Pidge was swearing very loudly. Lance had been dragged into that argument by Hunk at some point. Keith was the only one who wasn't yelling. He had walked off to the side. When the volume suddenly picked up immensely, he put his hands over his ears. He tried so hard to stand there and block out the sounds. Then Lance saw him out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't unsee the sight of him trying to pretend it would pass.  
Jumping up and walking towards Keith, he grabbed his elbow since that was the only thing he could reach and walked him out of the training room. He took a moment to let him lower his arms once outside. Their hands came together like a perfect puzzle and Lance walked them to the lounge. While walking he felt Keith's thumb pass over his knuckles several times. Their confession was only two and a half months ago but Lance already knew how his boyfriend would show his affection. It was little things. He would stand closer, brush against him in some way, squeeze his hand tighter whenever they held hands, hug him just a little longer. Just him smiling was one of his ways. Lance had thought he was adorable before and now he was just dead. This boy had no right to be so cute, adorable, sweet, and hot all at the same time.  
Lance had Keith sit down on the couch first before he sat beside him. He leaned back and Keith scooted closer then laid his head on Lance's chest. He liked listening to his heartbeat. Especially whenever he did something cute and his heartbeat sped up.  
"Thank you." Keith said. His voice was soft and hardly above a whisper. But Lance heard him.  
"Don't thank me. I was arguing as well. I should have gotten you out sooner." He replied.  
"But you did." Keith countered.  
"I guess so."  
Lance reached his hand up and started to run it through Keith's mullet. That was something he enjoyed doing. Lance will die saying that the mullet is ugly but he loved it at the same time. He doesn't know how and says it's actual magic but Keith's hair was always soft despite how rough it looked. Lance found it addicting to twirl his fingers in it over and over again. It wasn't just him who loved it. Keith loved the feeling of his hand and fingers glide through his hair and scrap his scalp every now and then. He could fall asleep to the feeling. It was even better than staring out into space.  
Keith was tired now. And hungry. There was no way he was getting up to go to the kitchen and grab some cookies Hunk made that morning though. Lance watched his boyfriend's eyes flutter open and close until they stayed closed.  
"I hate it when they argue. I hate it when people yell." He heard him whisper. His nostrils flared as he yawned. He probably didn't even realize what he said or that he said it out loud.  
Lance couldn't control himself. He leaned forward a bit and placed a kiss on Keith's forehead. His eyes shot open and he lifted his head to face Lance directly. Lance's hand was still in Keith's hair and his face was just a little too close. He really couldn't control himself. In a second, Lance's lips were on Keith's. His eyes were closed and he used his hand to pull Keith closer. Keith on the other hand only had his eyes half closed when Lance pulled away, taking his hand as well. He didn't even have enough time to kiss back.  
"Sorry, sorry. That must be weird timing. You was upset just a minute ago. Haha, I'm such an id-"  
"Why the hell did you stop?"  
Lance looked at Keith. He was softly smiling. His eyes had widened again. He didn't actually say it but he was asking for more. Lance felt himself smile back. He was a lot slower and a lot more gentle, like in a movie. He put his hand back in Keith's hair and his other hand around his waist to pull him even closer than before. They both immediately closed their eyes when their lips met the other's. Keith didn't know what to do as Lance did. He ended up with his eyes closed, one hand cupping his cheek, the other grabbing aimlessly at the collar of his shirt, and him kissing back just as gently. Lance leaned his head into Keith's touch and the kiss got even better. Keith made some kind of noise he didn't even know he was capable of making. Lance found something else he loved about him: the sweet noises he made were new found music to his ears. They both pulled back at the same time to breathe but they were back at it again just as quickly.  
Neither one of them noticed that Keith moved from Lance's side to being in his lap facing him. Lance slowly slid the hand that was in his hair down to his thigh. Keith was getting the hang of this kissing thing pretty quickly. He wrapped both of his arms around Lance's neck and pulled himself close. Their chests were against each other and they could feel the other breathe. They fell into a sort of rhythm. They kissed gently but without mercy. They would pull back to breathe or get another angle. At one point Keith pulled back to say, "Lance, baby, fucking hell." Lance smirked into the next kiss because Keith just called him "baby." He had already been calling him babe only a few days after they confessed.  
Keith suddenly pulled back and groaned. He was heavily breathing from the makeout session. They both were.  
"You okay?" Lance asked.  
"I'm actually starving. I skipped breakfast this morning remember?"  
Lance laughed. Skipping was typical of him but he hadn't died from starvation yet. Keith laughed with him. Of course something like this would end their first makeout session. Lance couldn't blame him though. He never did.  
Suddenly they heard loud voices coming closer. It sounded like the team was still arguing. It never lasted this long. Maybe they were just being loud.  
"Let's get out of here and head to kitchen. Then maybe a little trip out of the castle." Lance suggested.  
Keith sighed. "Please."  
As soon as they left, the owners of the voices came in. Yeah, they were still arguing. But they didn't concern either of them. They were enjoying each other too much. They walked into the kitchen hand in hand. Keith looked for where Hunk hid his cookies without hesitation. Lance opened what they think is a fridge, as it's cold like one bit doesn't look like one at all, and grabbed milk they had stored. Lance, being the only one to know how, began making milkshakes for the two of them. The cookies weren't hidden where they usually were so that meant either Hunk moved them or they were all gone. Lucky it was the first possibility. Keith found an entire closed bowl full of blue cookies in a weird Altean cabinet. He had already eaten three when he came to stand beside Lance who was doing the last steps of milkshake making. Lance opened his mouth wide as Keith, laughing, put a cookie into his gaping mouth as he shook the bottles of milk. Keith was wheezing with how much he was laughing.  
"Your face looked so dumb." He said after he calmed down some. Lance stuck his tongue out at him and he was a laughing mess all over again.  
They brought the bowl and their milkshakes to the dining room. They sat where they normally would.  
"Has Hunk tried to make anything to replace pizza out here?" Keith asked.  
"I would have expected him to by now but he's really focused on cakes. It's how he relaxes whenever he gets stressed out of his mind. So he's been doing a lot of that lately." Lance explained.  
"It sucks how much everyone is fighting."  
"I bet this was us when we fought to them but worse."  
"Don't you dare make me laugh again!"  
"Why not babe? You're cute when you laugh."  
Keith snatched a cookie out of Lance's hand and ate it. Lance dramatically put his hand over his heart and acted like he had been betrayed. Keith smiled. He was a sucker for his antics.  
"You're cute when you smile too."  
Lance grinned and sealed the bowl then. They left it out for the others because they felt like they would be there soon. Lance told Keith to go to Blue's hanger as he went to the bridge. There he found Coran who was looking better than the day before.  
"Hey Coran. I've got a quick question." Lance asked the Altean from the doorway.  
"Oh hello there. What is it you need to ask?" Coran replied cheerfully. He looked a lot better.  
"Are we going to make any wormhole jumps soon? I want to get out of the castle for a while in Blue."  
"Luckily for you we're not going anywhere for a while. You can take as much time as you need."  
"Alright. Can you contact me if that changes though? Just in case."  
"Well of course! Wouldn't want to leave you behind."  
With a thanks, Lance was running down the halls to his Lion's hanger. The door opened with a swish and he could hear Keith saying "C'mon Blue! What's so bad about me?"  
"What are you doing?" Lance asked when he walked up. He wrapped his arms around him in a hug and put his chin on to his shoulder.  
"I was trying to see if Blue would let down her barrier for me."  
"You trying to steal my lion?"  
"Nah. Mine is cooler."  
"Red is pretty cool I'll give you that. But Blue is the mama cat and she's bigger than yours."  
Keith rolled his eyes. Lance gave him a squeeze before letting go and having Blue take her barrier down so they could get it. Lance entered her mouth and went up to sit in the pilot's seat. Keith grabbed onto it as he flew her out.  
They circled the Castleship a few times. They flew around in relaxing silence for a while, enjoying the speckled scene that was space. This was just what both of them needed. To get away from the others and to just have each other. They'll make it last as long as they can.  
Lance flew out far enough so they could see the entire ship. He let go of the controls and let Blue float. He backed his seat up so Keith could have room to sit in his lap. Keith couldn't pass up the opportunity. He leaned into Lance's chest as his arms wrapped around Keith's defined stomach and pulled him closer in a more comfortable position.  
"Keith." Lance said to him.  
"Yeah?" He replied.  
"What do you think the best way for them to find out is?"  
"You're asking me this?" Keith asked a little surprised.  
"Why not."  
"How should I know Lance?"  
"Just think."  
"Alright." Keith thought about it for a minute. It would be a lie if he said his anxiety didn't rise a fair bit. "They just figure it out on their own."  
"And the worse way?"  
"Why are you asking these things? Are you okay?" Keith was becoming concerned.  
"Just answer me." Now Keith was worried.  
"They catch us during something like sex." He answered anyway.  
"Oh yeah, definitely." Lance laughed. It was forced. Keith could tell.  
"Lance I know something is wrong. What's going through your head?"  
"I'm fine, I am. My anxiety and whatnot has just decided to kick me in the face today. It'll pass." Lance admitted. He turned his face away.  
"These things don't just pass."  
"They do for me. I just need a day or so."  
"You know I worry for you." Keith said. A feeling was welling in his chest.  
"And I know you do. I'll be okay." Lance assured.  
"Fine," Keith said. "But I'm keeping my eye on you."  
Lance hugged Keith tight. "That's alright with me."  
Keith had Lance let go as he stood up and sat back down facing Lance with both knees beside each of his legs. Almost immediately Lance was holding back a laugh. When he couldn't it was a relief to Keith as it wasn't forced.  
"What?" He asked.  
"Blue said 'don't you dare Red Paladin'."  
"I'm not going to fuck your Paladin or anything Blue!" He said to her. The sentient machine hummed around them.  
"She said 'Fine. Just don't try anything.'" Lance translated.  
"She worries too much."  
"That's kinda like her job. She's the mama cat for a reason."  
Keith smiled a little before he leaned forward more. Lance met him halfway in the kiss. It was just as sweet and full of love as the first twenty. Keith pulled back first.  
"I love you baby." He whispered.  
"Ha, I love you too babe."  
Keith grinned. Lance knew exactly why.  
"You thought I was going to tell you to not call me that? You're must be dumber than I thought."  
Keith flinched before he realized that he was joking. He sighed and rested his head on Lance's shoulder. Lance hugged him for good measure.  
"You know I'm pretty much crazy for you." Lance said.  
"I would hope so."  
Keith lifted his head again and they kissed once more before a screen showing Coran's face popped up on the dash. There were a change in plans about wormhole jumping after all.


	5. Chapter 5

Hunk led the way to the Med Bay with Shiro in tow. He was balancing three bowls of food goop while Shiro had a blanket and pillow over his human arm. They had taken a break from watching the footage to check on Lance. Pidge switched to the cameras that were rolling at those moments to see where Lance was. If he wasn't anywhere to be seen then he was in his room as their rooms didn't have cameras. They found him walking in circles in the Med Bay though. As his best friend, Hunk was going to check on him since it was day two. Shiro tagged along with the intention to apologize. Before they left the bridge, Pidge promised to not resume the footage until they both got back. It was only fair as they all wanted to watch it without having to rewind for the other two to catch up.  
Hunk carefully entered the Med Bay, Shiro came in with even more caution. Lance wasn't walking in circles as they had previously seen. He was sitting on the floor with his head in his knees, facing the pod with an unconscious Keith. When he heard the door open, he looked away from the visitors to rub his eyes. It did nothing for him. Hunk and Shiro both saw that his eyes were clearly strained and full of sadness and guilt. They both knew that the boy hadn't slept like they had predicted. Neither one of them could hide their smiles when they noticed Lance wearing Keith's jacket, something Lance had forgotten about apparently. Either that or he didn't care what they thought about it.  
"Hey guys! What brings you around here? Come to check on Keith or ya boy Lancey Lance?" He fakingly joked. The amount of how tired he was shined through in his voice. He coughed.  
"Keith is fine. We know that and we know he won't be out of that pod until tomorrow. We came to check on you." Hunk told him. Lance sat up with an actual smile.  
"We brought food and comfort for you." Shiro said. He smiled softly. He had developed a new found respect for the younger Blue Paladin as he watched the footage. Lance was able to see and interact with a side to Keith he was sure that he would never see. The level of trust was drastically different between friend and boyfriend. Out of anyone in the universe Keith would find love in, he was extremely glad that that person would be the boy in front of him. He was proud of both boys.  
"A blanket and pillow? Thanks guys! This floor isn't exactly a bed or couch." He took the things from Shiro's hands with much thanks. Shiro helped him spread the blanket out onto the floor.  
"And hey, don't forget about me and food!" Hunk exclaimed as he pressed the bowls into Lance's now empty hands. "We don't know if you've been to the kitchen at all so we brought you food in case not."  
"Don't worry, I have. I've also been to the training room a few times. I know Keith isn't going to get out any sooner so I might as well do something besides staying cooped up in here."  
"Then why are you here?" Hunk questioned.  
Lance bit the inside of his cheek. He looked down to avoid staring or being stared at. The two other people both knew why. They were just curious as to what he'd say in response. He shrugged and somewhat admitted, "I don't know. Just don't want to leave him."  
He looked up again with a nervously forced smile. He would never say that they were dating, if you can even say dating while you're in a war with little or no time to go out, if Keith wasn't there with him. He needed him there as an anchor and for support. Plus he would need his approval to tell the others of their relationship. If Keith didn't want them to know then he wouldn't say anything.  
"How have you been doing then?" Hunk asked.  
"Pretty good." Lance lied. He was a trainwreck of guilt and sadness without his boyfriend. These days couldn't possibly go by any slower.  
Hunk stood looking at Lance for a moment. He couldn't take it anymore. He stepped closer and pulled Lance into a very tight hug. He couldn't express how proud he was of Lance. He was proud that he came out to someone, proud that he found love, proud that he treated his partner with love and respect, he was proud that he was helping Keith in multiple ways, Hunk was just so proud. He couldn't say it enough. He was so proud! How could he express that in words? He wished he could hug Keith at the same time. That was definitely going to be something he was going to do when he got out of the pod.  
"Hunk, buddy, I know you like to hug, but this is too tight and unnecessary in my opinion. What's with the hugging?" Lance asked his best friend.  
"Let me just have this." Was all he said. He knew he couldn't like to Lance so he just didn't say anything. Lance only sighed at this and permitted it. He couldn't hug back though and Hunk seemed to be fine with that. When he finally let go after a solid two minutes, he waved a goodbye and left the Med Bay. Now it was Shiro's turn. He turned towards the younger Paladin.  
"I definitely owe you an apology Lance. I let myself act more of a leader than a friend the other day. You were right, I don't know how hard this is for you. For that, I apologize. I hope you can accept my apology." He sincerely explained.  
Lance looked at Shiro briefly before turning his head away and wrapping his left arm around his right. It only took a second for him to gather his thoughts for a response. "I'm sorry, but not in the way you think," Shiro raised an eyebrow. "I don't regret or feel what I said was wrong. In all honesty, it felt good to say the things I did. I do accept your apology but I'm sorry that I'm not sorry. If you can understand that."  
Shiro sighed. Not out of annoyance or anger. "I know that feeling Lance. I can understand that. I actually expected this."  
Lance looked at him with shock. His arms fell limp at his sides. He wasn't expecting this.  
"Thanks for being honest." Shiro said. He walked around Lance to head out the door. It opened as he turned around with the biggest grin Lance had ever seen on his face. Shiro waved a goodbye just like Hunk did. He walked out and the door closed.  
"That was weird." Lance whispered to himself.  
On the other side of the door, Shiro was whispering as well. "Thanks for being the best thing in Keith's life."

 

\---

 

Nothing got better. The yelling, arguing, short tempers, and stress if anything, got worse. Hunk didn't think before speaking and said whatever he thought, sometimes he would swear. Pidge had become violent. It was better to do whatever Shiro said to. Allura was seriously thinking of pushing every single one of them out the air locks into space. Coran was just surviving, bless his old heart. Keith and Lance had to avoid them all except Coran. None of them ate together as a team anymore. Training had absolutely no breaks or breathers. Arguing was much more frequent. So much so that they lasted through the night cycles. Lance had no idea but Keith hadn't slept in a week because of it. He was sleep deprived. He swore that he heard people calling his name even though nobody was around. What Lance had noticed though was that Keith was a bit snappier, had mood swings, was always on alert even alone with him, and he had bigger bags under his eyes. If he had thought about it more he could could have saved Keith from an incident four months into their secret relationship. He had seen Keith talk bad about himself but this was far worse.  
They were suppose to be training. Allura didn't use the overhead announcement system. There was no need. To gather everyone into the training room that morning, she stood at the open door of the Bridge and yelled. Yes, yelled. Everyone was asleep in their rooms and were abruptly woken up. Coran had been beside her when she did what she did. The poor man was practically deaf. He had borrowed Lance's headphones to block sound out as he recovered from the worse headache of his entire lifetime in his room.  
Once everyone was gathered in the training room, the arguing was almost immediate.  
"You all were too slow!" Allura said.  
"Here we go again." Shiro groaned.  
"We get it, you're the princess of perfection and everything you do is perfect and we're not." Hunk commented.  
Pidge said nothing as she pulled out a wrench and waved it menacingly. She would end up hitting someone with it by the end of the day.  
The longer they argued, the more annoyed Lance became. Why couldn't they just stop? This has been going on for far too long.  
Lance was the only one to hear a sniffle from someone. He turned his head. His heart immediately was stomped on, dropped, and shattered at what he saw. Keith was shaking violently. His eyes were glossy from upcoming tears. He looked so tired and defeated. This isn't how Keith should look. Lance watched him sniffle again. He didn't know what he was doing. While the others were still fighting, Lance had walked up to Keith and taken his hand into his own. He led Keith out of there and down the hall. Normally they headed to the lounge to settle whatever issue was happening and so that was where Lance turned towards. Keith's shaking was getting worse. His sniffles were louder. Just a few more tur-  
Keith fell to the ground, pulling Lance down with him. He couldn't walk anymore. He had no strength left in him. Lance let him sit there in the hallway. He wrapped his lean arms around Keith in a tight hug. Keith leaned his head onto Lance's shoulder and what he did next made Lance a broken boy. He let himself cry. Furiously. Keith couldn't hold it back anymore. He was sleep deprived, tired, stressed, and annoyed with everyone except for Lance and Coran. And what Shiro had just said. Why would he say that?  
Lance had gotten his hand under Keith's shirt and was soothing him by softly rubbing his bare back. For once he didn't know what to say. He felt his shoulder was wet but he couldn't care. He decided to not say anything but to anchor Keith and bring him back from his breakdown. The two of them stayed in that hallway undisturbed for an hour. Keith cried the entire time. His cries died down. Lance let go of Keith. The tears still flowed like a river from his eyes but he was able to speak now so Lance began to ask questions.  
"What happened?"  
Keith stared at him in confusion. How did he not hear what Shiro said? He yelled it. Screamed even.  
"You just starting to cry in the training room. Everyone else was arguing with each other and you just started to cry." Lance explained.  
"I... What?" It hit Lance then.  
"When was the last time you slept?"  
"Maybe a week ago. They started fighting during the night cycles and I couldn't sleep."  
Lance hugged Keith tight again. The other boy was still confused.  
"You're okay, I promise. You're sleep deprived. Whatever happened in there didn't really happened. You were hallucinating." Lance explained to him.  
Keith felt like crying again. He hugged back just as tightly. After a few moments Lance pushed back again.  
"What happened?" He repeated.  
"Everyone was fighting. I'm so sick and tired of all the yelling so I thought I stepped in," His breath hitched. "Shiro turned to me. I can't... I can't unhear it."  
He was crying into Lance's shoulder again. It must have been extremely harsh. Lance was patient. He let him cry. He wanted to cry as well. He didn't want Keith to look and feel this way. He wanted to take all of his pain away.  
"He said 'Shut up Galra. We don't want you here.'" Keith finally said. His voice was muffled by Lance's shoulder but it was the loudest thing in the universe.  
Lance was pissed. Pissed at Shiro even though he knew it was just a hallucination. He was pissed at everyone who had let the stress get to them. Pissed that it has lasted this long. He was pissed at himself for not doing anything. There were so many things he could have done.  
"It hurts so much. Make it stop." Keith pleaded. He was holding onto Lance for dear life.  
"I will. I'll make everything better. No more yelling, no more sleepless nights, I'll make it all okay. I promise." Lance said. He meant it. He'll do whatever he has to do. He'll do it all for Keith.  
Keith finally relaxed after another hour. The tears and shaking stopped. He slumped against Lance's body. All his energy was gone. He could hardly move.  
"I'm so tired." He said.  
Lance wrapped his arms around Keith's lower back. He used all of his strength to pick him up as he stood up. It was a little easier than he actually expected. Keith was light. Said boy wrapped his legs around his carrier and his arms around Lance's neck. As Lance walked through the lounge and towards Keith's room he told him, "I'm going to sleep with you tonight. I'll make sure you sleep." He felt him smile against his neck. It made him smile as well.  
"Just don't try anything." Keith joked. It got a genuine laugh out of Lance.  
As they got closer to Keith's room he said something else that repaired Lance's entire being.  
"You're the best boyfriend in the universe."  
Lance said nothing in response. He was already grinning like an idiot. They reached his room. Lance opened the door and stepped inside. He placed Keith gently on his bed. He placed a kiss on his temple and promised to be back soon. As Lance was going back down the hallways, the lights dimmed. The night cycle was starting. He stopped by Coran's room and got his headphones back from him. The old man was doing a lot better than this morning. Next, Lance went to his own room. He didn't rush as he peeled his wet clothing off and put on his comfortable pajamas. He left his blue robe. Once he had changed, he grabbed the headphones and went back to Keith's room. He found him changed as well. His hair was wet and he smelled great. He must have taken a shower. He was back in his bed waiting on Lance.  
"Put these headphones on. They're really good at blocking sound." Lance said as he handed them over.  
He sat down on the edge of Keith's bed as he took them. He wasn't really sure what to do. Keith on the hand apparently did. He grabbed Lance's arm and pulled him down and closer. He wrapped his blanket over the both of them. Just out of instinct, Lance placed his arm over Keith's side.  
"Hope this is okay." Lance said sheepishly.  
"It's fine. And I won't use these headphones right now. If they start yelling then I will."  
Lance nodded. Keith yawned and slowly closed his eyes. Lance scooted himself closer. The arm around Keith's back reached up and played with the mullet in the back. His other arm was under his own head. Keith leaned his head into Lance's chest and left it there. They both smiled. For the first time in a while, nobody in the Castleship yelled during the night. Keith and Lance slept peacefully together. They had to do this more often. The sleeping, not the crying.


	6. Chapter 6

Something was wrong. Very wrong. Keith ran through the hallways towards the bridge. His only light was the dim lights of the ship. It was the night cycle. Eveeything was quiet. There was no more yelling. None at all. The week before, Coran and Lance planned a trip to a resort planet where every one of them could relax. The trip did wonders for all of them. Stress was finally relieved. But he had been asleep when he was woken up by Red screaming in his head. Lance wasn't okay. He had sent a message to Keith through the Lions. Having the Blue Lion pass the message to Red who then gave it to Keith. Lance was far from okay. He needed him.  
Keith saw the Bridge door come around the next turn. If the doors in the Castleship didn't open automatically then he would have slammed right into it. Keith entered the Bridge and looked around frantically. He saw Lance sitting down with his knees in the air and as close to him as possible, leaning against the small raised platform of Allura's control center. He was trying his best not to let his crying noises escape him. It made it sound like he was whimpering. It hurt to listen.  
Keith came up to Lance carefully but quickly. He sat down close and placed his hand on Lance's closest knee. Slowly Lance looked up. His eyes were red and his face was streaked with the path of his fallen tears. Keith watched a tear fall. Lance wiped his eyes and nose before he leaned forward for a hug. Keith was more than glad to hug him. He made sure not to hug too tight but just enough to reassure Lance that he was there.  
"I'm here now," he said. "I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere. I've got you, you're safe."  
Lance let the noises out. He held onto Keith's shirt like a lifeline. Keith didn't know what all to do. Comforting was more of Lance's or Hunk's field. He did his best though. He rubbed Lance's back. He had buried his face into Lance's neck and placed light kisses there every now and then. Lance came down from his crying fit sooner than Keith when he had a breakdown a month ago. Keith would be lying if he said that didn't hurt him a little. He wanted to sit there for hours comforting Lance, being there all that time with no judging. He wanted to be what Lance had been to him.  
Lance's grip loosened. He fell back against the platform, away from Keith's embrace. He pulled his legs close.  
"Are you okay?" Keith asked cautiously.  
Lance shook his head. His legs fell a little and he began to cry all over again. Keith was about to go for another hug or kiss before he was stopped by what Lance asked him in a shaky voice.  
"Why do you love me?"  
Out of instinct, he opened his mouth to say something. He shut it when he didn't know what to say. His heart was picking up in pace. It picked up even more when Lance looked away, murmuring something, and he pulled his legs closer than before.  
Keith sat back and crossed his legs. He looked down. He began to panic. Lance had done so much for him, he should do the same. But what if he doesn't like what he has to say? What if he rejects him? This could be the end of their relationship. He wanted to cry. Why couldn't he do this for Lance? His fear of rejection was in high gear. He looked up to see Lance. His hands were now tugging at his hair. He was hurting, like Keith had. He needed him. Needed this. He looked down again out of nervousness.  
"Your skin always seems to glow, it's soft whether or not you use your skin care products and it reminds me of cinnamon. Your eyes are a beautiful shade of blue. Your dark hair compliments both. Your lips are always soft and sweet. I like how you're only a little bit taller than me but you can hug me with your entire body. I like to hear you talk, just to listen to your voice. I love it when you really laugh, not those fake forced laughs. I really love it when you make me laugh. When I do, I see you smile every time and it's one of the best feelings I get.  
You care about everyone. You're always trying to make people feel special. You're confident and easily social. You can always make a joke that lightens a mood even if you don't think it does. I love how silly you can be and I just love your antics. You make all these jokes but you can be serious when you need to be. You're protective over me and anyone. You always notice if something is wrong with someone else.  
You're your own level of strong. You can see things in a plan that everyone else can't. You can make the most serious of missions fun. It's actual fun to watch you do flips and tricks in your Lion. You can shoot enemies that the rest of us can't even reach. Your attention can be on your own opponent and on other's at the same time. You have everyone's back. You always check up on everyone individually after every battle with a smile and when you come to me you somehow smile bigger. Then I see you relax and that is one of the most soothing things to see.  
Fuck Lance, I love you so damn much. I don't know if there's anything that I don't love about you. You're the only reason I'm afraid of death. If I die I won't see your smile anymore. I won't hear your laugh. I won't hear your jokes. I won't feel your touch. I wouldn't get anymore of your hugs. Wouldn't get any more kisses. I'm terrified of losing you. I wish I could take you back to Earth right now and take you home. I wish I could take you as far away as possible from this damn war. I want nothing more than to see you happy. And always happy. I hate to see you cry and hate that you don't see what I do in you. You're everything I'm not. Everyone loves you, you're social, your caring, you have normal parents, you have a family who loves you, and you have an entire world to go back to. I want you to be the constant in my life that I've always wanted though." Keith began to cough. He sputtered out, "So much damn talking."  
After taking a few breaths he finally looked up. Lance was completely still. His legs were down all the way, his hands in his lap, his eyes were wide and staring at Keith, but he was crying still. Keith began to panic all over again.  
"Oh God did I say too much? Did I say something wrong? Shit, I probably did. That was a lot. What did I say?" He said.  
Lance moved. He reached his hand up to his face to wipe his tears away. He looked back to Keith who was still panicking and ranting about what he did wrong. Lance grabbed him and pulled his close to kiss him. Keith immediately shut up. He kissed back. It lasted only a few seconds, not as long as others, but when they broke apart Keith was the first to speak.  
"You're so confusing."  
"That something you like about me too?" Lance teased.  
Keith groaned and put his head in his hands to hide his face. "I'm going to punch you if you hang this over me."  
Lance pressed his lips to Keith's temple. "I'm not an asshole. I won't do that."  
As Lance kept pressing kisses wherever he could get his lips on, Keith wrapped his arms around Lance's neck. He pulled him closer. His eyes started to water. He had no idea if his message got across.  
"I love you. And I mean it all."  
"I know you do. You mean everything you say. You're so direct." Keith physically flinched at the last comment. Lance had to murmur a "Sorry."  
They sat there for a few moments, in a hug while Lance kissed Keith's neck, risking a bite every once in a while. Keith pulled back after awhile.  
"Are you good now? Can you go to bed? Can I go back to bed?" He asked.  
"Yes, yes, and yes." Lance answered.  
Keith stood up and dragged Lance until he got up as well. Then he began to pull Lance along with him as he headed towards the door and to his room.  
"You're sleeping with me tonight. I'm not letting you out of my sight for the next two days. And I'm not letting anybody touch you either." Keith explained.  
Lance laughed as they exited the Bridge. "I love you babe."  
Keith yawned loudly. "I love you too."  
Keith walked up to his room and pushed Lance inside. Luckily they both had their pajamas already on so they went straight for the bed. Lance laid down first. Keith crawled on top of him to sleep. He laid his head on Lance's chest and had one of their hands intertwine. Lance pulled the blanket over them. He put his free hand in Keith's hair. He intentionally lightly scraped his scalp and Keith was asleep almost instantaneously. He soon followed. Lance really needed all of that that night.


	7. Chapter 7

Lance paced around the Med Bay. He walked by the mess of bowls and the strewn blanket. It was the third day. Keith should be out of the pod. Should be out in a few minutes actually. He fidgeted with the hem of Keith's jacket that he had been wearing for those three days as he walked around. Lance found it odd that nobody else was in here with him. Did they know it was the third day? Had they forgotten about Keith? Did they care? These thoughts were concerning indeed but they were replaced with thoughts that worried him even more. What should he say when Keith gets out? Would he be mad? It was his fault that Keith had to be placed here. He hated a mad Keith but he would understand if he was. Would he even remember? What if something happened to his memory? Worse case scenarios plagued his mind. His pacing had stopped as he thought. He was facing the pod. A beep pulled Lance out of his own trance. He looked at the pod.  
A new screen had appeared. It was a countdown. Keith would be out in ten ticks. He waited until the countdown was at five.  
"5... 4... 3... 2... 1..."  
The pod hissed open. Lance opened his arms as Keith's body turned in midair as he fell. He had to adjust his back footing to remain standing with the shorter boy leaning all of his weight against him. He protectively wrapped his arms around Keith's back and waited on him. Keith groaned. His muscles felt sore. He painfully turned his head to look at who was holding him. If it didn't hurt to smile, he would be when he saw that it was Lance. But Lance was clearly worried. Even he could tell that. What happened? Eventually he fought through the pain so he could smile. Lance began to relax, if only by a little, when he did. Then Keith frowned.  
"You're wearing my jacket." He croaked. He stood up and supported himself while still in Lance's arms.  
Lance looked down at himself. He had really forgotten that he was wearing it. He liked how it was the right amount of tight. He felt like he could hide away inside it. It made him feel safe. "Oh, OH! I'm sorry, I didn't think about it too much when I put it on. You can have it back."  
Keith gently slapped Lance's hands away when he reached up to take it off. "Keep it on for right now," He said smiling. "It actually looks good on you."  
Lance's face darkened and got a slight pink tint. That was him blushing. Keith had always found that adorable. He smiled wider.  
After a minute, the atmosphere changed again. Keith could tell that Lance, of all people, didn't know what to do. He could see his struggle to say something. Keith wasn't any better. He never knew what to say anytime of the day. He was no help in this situation. He sniffed. Wait, what was that smell? He sniffed again. Was that him? Again. It was! Keith quickly forced his way out of Lance's grip.  
"I need a shower." He said bleakly.  
Keith walked out of the Med Bay. Lance, still not knowing what he should do, followed close behind. Keith felt his presence and turned to make sure. He was right. Lance had his head down but he still see Keith. His hands were inside the jacket pockets. Keith turned back around and almost passed by his room. They both entered and the door shut behind them. Keith opened the door to the bathroom that were attached to the room. He went inside and closed that door. Only then did he begin to strip.  
Lance stood in the middle of the room like an idiot. Keith only takes a few minutes to shower. He got an idea then. He walked back out of the room and walked down the hallways to go to his room. His door hissed when it opened. He hadn't been in here for a while. But he was here for only one thing. He grabbed it and walked back to Keith's room. By the time he got back, Keith was out of the shower. He was drying his hair with a towel but he was already dressed. Of course he had another solid black shirt. He had that and sweatpants on. Lance couldn't tell if those sweatpants were the ones he worked out in or not. Keith noticed Lance staring.  
"What do you have there?" Keith asked. He could have teased but decided against.  
Lance held up his own jacket for Keith to see. He raised an eyebrow, questioning.  
"Since I'm wearing your jacket, why not you wear mine for the time being?" Lance answered the unspoken question.  
Keith beamed. Wearing his boyfriend's jacket? Yes please! Lance held it out as an offer and Keith more than happily took it. Lance watched him carefully put it on. Keith's smile faded. Then it came back wider than Lance had ever seen. Keith loved Lance's jacket. It was comfortably soft and was loose. The opposite of his. He felt like he could do anything with this jacket on. Lance watched this unfold with absolute amazement. His heart couldn't take this.  
Keith took several steps forward towards Lance. He reached up and wrapped his arms around his neck and pulled him closer. Keith, not normally the one to initiate, kissed Lance. Lance gladly kissed back. Every tension in their bodies dissolved away. Soon enough they were making out. Not something that haven't done before. They both loved to make out behind close doors, out of sight from the others. It was actually something they did often when kissing was found to be okay to do.  
Lance pulled back after a few minutes. "I missed you so much."  
"How long was I in there? In that pod." Keith asked. His arms wrapped around Lance's back. For all he knew it had been a week.  
"Three days." Lance sounded like he was about to cry. Keith's own voice was shaky.  
"What happened?"  
"The robeast did a real number on you and Red," Keith nodded as he remembered. "We brought both of you back to the Castleship when the rest of us beat it. Shiro got you out of Red and carried you to the pods to heal. You had several broken and crack things. Like broken ribs, cracked skull, you had a concussion. It was bad. We were all so glad that it wasn't worse." He explained.  
"I'm sorry," it was about the only thing he could say back. "I flew too close."  
"No, no, no. I'm sorry. It was all my fault. I should have done more. I could have said I was going to let the robeast go but I didn't."  
Keith stared at him. Lance was always blaming himself. He saw his eyes glass over. He was about to cry. He didn't want him to. He had to stretch a little so that he could kiss his eyelids gently. It was such a movie thing to do. That must have been what Lance thought because he laughed. Keith pulled back.  
"You haven't slept in those three days have you?" He asked. He already knew the answer.  
"Not really. I had power naps. I can already feel just how tired I am."  
Keith moved his arms to hang around the other's neck again. He smirked. He didn't need to ask what he did but he knew it did things to Lance. "Sleep with me baby?"  
Lance smiled. He said baby on purpose. Keith, that hot bitch, knew what he was doing. "Of course babe. But we have to go tell the others you're out of the pod first."  
Keith groaned. He was very tired. He just wanted to sleep with his boyfriend. The longer he stood the more energy was seeping away. "Fine. Make it quick though." He said anyway.  
Lance grabbed Keith's hand and pulled him out of his room. He wasted no time. He let go of Keith as he started walking towards the Bridge. Perhaps someone would be there. Coran would have a better chance of being there than anyone else. He would make it quick indeed. A simple "Hey, Keith's out. Can you make sure the others know?" would suffice. The door to the Bridge peaked itself around a turn. He stood in front of it and turned. Keith was dragging his feet. They entered the room together.  
"I love you babe." "I love you too." Was what they first heard. It was their voices. Lance frowned. He saw that everyone was in here watching a floating screen. On the screen was Lance and Keith. Keith was pulling Lance by the hand out of the Bridge. He knew when that happened. It was a month ago. It was his breakdown. Nobody in the room had noticed the new people that had joined them. The footage paused. They were silent.  
Keith had been looking at the same scene Lance was. He looked at Lance, expecting him to look panicked. Keith took Lance's hand into his and squeezed. He pulled him out of his thoughts and looked slightly down to him. Keith, with his eyes and not words, spoke. "They know." Them knowing was Lance's biggest fear. But he smiled. He nodded. It was okay. Whatever happens happens. Keith grinned. His hand never left the other's. He turned away to face the still silent and unknowing audience. His voice was loud and clear.

"I guess that makes it easier for us."

Their heads whipped around at a scary speed to face the two. They saw Lance wearing Keith's jacket and Keith wearing Lance's jacket. They saw Lance shyly smiling and Keith grinning the most they had ever seen him. They saw the two of them holding hands. Coran, Allura, Shiro, Hunk, and Pidge smiled at the sight. They all stood almost at the same time and ran towards them. The force of the group hug made their hands separate.  
"I'm so happy for you two!" Hunk exclaimed first.  
"You two are so cute together!" Pidge said like it was a fact.  
The group hug pulled away for mostly Keith's sake. Now Keith and Lance seemed to have switched roles. Lance was holding onto his own arm and acting shy while Keith was practically shaking with happiness.  
Lance took a deep breath. He eyed Allura and Shiro. "You going to lecture us on how bad for Voltron this is?"  
Allura spoke first. "Quite the opposite really! I can only see how this will improve the forming of Voltron. But Voltron aside, I'm happy for both of you. Your relationship with each other has come a long way." Lance looked to Shiro.  
"I've never seen Keith so happy. I can truly see that he loves you deeply," Keith nodded. "I'm happy and proud of both of you. If Keith is happy then I have nothing to say to oppose it."  
Then all that was left was Coran. The man physically could not form words he was so happy. He could cry from how happy he was for the two. And he did. They all found out in that moment that he was an ugly crier. Like, hide your face ugly.  
After nicely kicking Coran out of the Bridge, Keith leaned onto Lance and yawned. Him yawning made Lance yawn. They were even more tired than before they entered. It was a struggle to stand at this point. Everyone else saw.  
"Go get some sleep. All that needs to be said has been. If we need to talk about this more then we will tommorow. But for now, go and relax." Allura said.  
Lance smiled for a second her way. He gathered all his remaining strength to walk out dragging Keith with him. He trusted his feet to bring them back to Keith's room. He knew he could trust them. They flopped onto the bed. They stayed still for a few moments. Then at the same time they moved to properly lay on the bed. Keith was closer to the wall. He had one arm beside himself and his other hand rested on Lance's chest. He made sure to tangle their legs together. Lance placed his hand over Keith's and his arm went under Keith's neck and hovered against his shoulder.  
"That wasn't so bad now was it?" Keith asked. His voice was groggy.  
"It wasn't," Lance admitted. His voice was the exact same. "That definitely wasn't the worse way they could have found out."  
Keith hummed in agreement. His breathing evened out. It was actually amazing how fast he could fall asleep. When he was like this, he could take a moment to appreciate and admire just how beautiful, handsome, and hot Keith was. He could really say to himself that he was lucky to have someone like him as a boyfriend and teammate. This was one of his favorite things to do that Keith didn't know about. Keith was amazing in every way.  
As much as he loved to think these things, it was what always made him fall asleep faster. He closed his eyes. "I love you." He said to the sleeping body. Then he was lights out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've made it this far then I hope you enjoyed reading!


End file.
